GA's concerns heard at key City of Toronto meetingBy Kevin Psutka, COPA president and CEOThe Executive Committee of City Council held a public meeting to consider a proposal to amend the Tripartite agreement for the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in order to accommodate Porter Airlines plan for jet service. At the heart of the meeting were recommendations from city staff to proceed with amending the agreement under certain conditions.
COPA's long-standing position has been that we are not opposed to expanding airline operations at the airport as long as it does not negatively impact GA, which to date has been steadily pushed out of the airport in favour of airline operations. This meeting was our opportunity to press our case.

The Flying Circus: First classBy Garth Wallace COPA eFlight presents another weekly excerpt from "The Flying Circus," a fun book by Canadian aviation humorist and former COPA publisher Garth Wallace. "The Flying Circus" is a fictional account of the madcap escapades of two instructors who start their own flying school armed with loads of enthusiasm, but little business sense and no money.

Full-Lotus unveils all-new AMPHIBIOUS floats!FULL-LOTUS specializes in the design and development of all-terrain inflatable aircraft floats. Standard Full-Lotus floats work on water, ice and snow; a new amphibious model being introduced this spring is suitable for grass, dirt & paved surfaces as well! Main wheels retract electrically within body of the floats to improve performances and looks. For float specifications and prices, visit http://www.full-lotus.com/

TSB highlights worldwide problem with unstable approachesCNWDuring the release of its investigation report into the August 2011 fatal accident involving First Air flight 6560 in Resolute Bay, Nunavut, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada called on Transport Canada and the airline industry to reduce unstable approaches that are continued to a landing, and to improve crew communications.
The investigation concluded that a combination of factors contributed to the accident. The aircraft did not intercept the runway localizer (alignment) beam, and instead diverged to the right, and ultimately hit a hill.

What can pilots do to avoid vanishing?By Ryan Clark Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 7, and it has been missing ever since. With all of the talk surrounding the vanishing of Flight 370, many people are asking just how can a plane — in this day-and-age — simply vanish? Sure, it made sense when people believed in a Bermuda Triangle, but with today's technology and instrumentation, what exactly are the factors and failures that go into an airplane vanishing? More importantly, what can pilots do to remain safe going forward?

Flying dream takes student from UK to CanadaLurgan MailAlex Hathorne, a former Waringstown, U.K., girl has taken to the skies across the big pond and is hoping to one day earn her wings as a pilot with Air Canada.
At the age of 16, Hawthorne moved to Canada with her mother Alison and brother Daniel. The move came about after her mother, a flight attendant for many years, married a Canadian pilot whom she met on her travels — a case of love at first flight.

Lasers said to be targeting planes over Windsor-Detroit areaCBC NewsTransport Canada has received at least five reports of lasers being pointed at private and commercial airplanes flying over the international area of Windsor-Detroit.
Four times a green laser was said to be pointed at planes landing at or taking off from Windsor International Airport, according to Transport Canada's Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System. The fifth incident involved a plane descending into Detroit.

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Helicopter safety improving, but progress still neededBy Mark Huber It was a compelling image. At the recent Heli-Expo convention, Air Methods' chief pilot Scott Tish stood next to an oversized flatscreen displaying an image of the mangled remains of one of the company's helicopters. "Does anyone think this is acceptable?" he asked the audience attending the safety seminar. The image was of an Airbus AS350B2 that crashed Aug. 26, 2011, killing the pilot, crew and patient after it ran out of fuel near Mosby, Mo. An extreme case, Mosby has become the poster child for industry sloppiness and recklessness.

The pilots in the basementThe New York TimesMuch has been made of the flight simulator found in the home of Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet. Why would Shah, a guy who spends so much time flying real airplanes, want to pretend he's flying a fake one in his off hours?
No one knows his motivation, of course, but he represents just one of hundreds of thousands of virtual aviation enthusiasts. They grip yokes and advance throttles in their spare bedrooms and basements, virtually flying everything from Piper Cubs to the Concorde.

Norwegian F-16 pilot shoots incredible footage from the cockpitYahoo!Still regretting that decision to not join the armed forces and be trained as a pilot? Now you can see what you're missing out on.
This video — shot by a Norwegian fighter pilot while zooming around in an F-16 jet during a training exercise — gives viewers a cockpit view of life in the danger zone.
The unidentified pilot also took a more traditional selfie.

Pi in the sky: The makings of an aerial featBy Julie BernhardYou didn't have to be a math geek to appreciate the recent happenings at SXSW. As part of a kickoff to everyone's favorite holiday — Pi Day (3/14) — five aircraft took the sky on Pi Day Eve in an attempt to spell out...

Ontario airport gets a $12.2 million faceliftTownship of Algonquin HighlandsThe Forestry and Fire Fighting divisions of Canada's Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources will invest $12.2 million in a move of their headquarters to Haliburton/Stanhope Airport. As well as constructing a new...

Amid jet mystery, pilots' psychological health a concernThe Associated Press via ABC NewsThere are numerous tactics designed to keep dangerous people and threats out of the cockpit. However, this does nothing if the pilot is the problem.
Amid the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, investigators have said they're considering many options, including whether the pilots had any nefarious intentions when they boarded the plane.

Dynon adds touchscreen to SkyView suiteFLYINGThe Dynon Avionics engineering team in Woodinville, Wash., has added touchscreen capability to its SkyView avionics suite. Available for experimental and light sport aircraft only, SkyView Touch complements the existing hard-button knob controls — including the autopilot panel — rather than replacing them. It offers pilots a choice of interface. "Touch when you want it; turbulence when you don't" is the company catchphrase associated with the new capability.